Nothing to Fear Except Fear Itself (and Spiders)
by SapphireOcean
Summary: 1: Not even Mako can help Ryuko with this fight. 2: Spring cleaning hazards. [Promptember #5 and #6, Complete]
1. Part 1

More Ryumako. I couldn't resist.

PS: At AO3 the fic and the next are separate chapters and since they're related I thought I'd put them together here.

The prompt: Person A finds Person B huddled in the shower shaking. Reason? There is a giant spider on the shower curtain/door and they are terrified of spiders.

* * *

In a ramshackle house on the edge of town, during the early morning, the peace and quiet was shattered by what sounded like the screech of an agitated pterodactyl.

Mako barreled into the bathroom. "Ryuko-chan, what's wrong? I didn't flush the toilet or run water or anything!" She grasped the shower curtain with both hands, preparing to shove it aside, but jumped back at a squawk from the shower.

"Open it slowly." Ryuko's voice was very quiet.

Mako did as instructed, brow furrowing in worry.

"Yaaaah!"

Mako screamed in response as Ryuko shot into the corner of the shower and slumped shaking to the floor, eyes wide. "It moved. It's on the wall…"

Mako peeked around the curtain. A tarantula was on the shower wall.

"Oh!" Mako said. "Why didn't you just tell me?" She stepped into the shower, patting Ryuko's head as she passed. "Come on, little guy."

"Little? Mako, that thing– _don't bring it over here!"_

Mako turned to face her, tarantula resting on her hands. She smiled. "He won't bite you, Ryuko-chan. See how calm he is? He came right to me."

Ryuko pointed a trembling finger. "Shower! Out! Go!"

Mako left the bathroom, talking softly to the tarantula. Ryuko, still unclothed, followed several yards behind.

"What are you gonna do with it?"

"I'll put him outside."

"It could come back in! Can't you just k-k-ki–" Ryuko huffed, dragging a hand over her face. "Of course you can't."

"I know just where he should go. I'm gonna leave him by the gully."

And so Ryuko hung by the front door while Mako made the half-mile trek to the gully.

"Ryuko-chan, aren't you cold?" Mako said when she returned.

"I had to make sure that thing didn't follow you," said Ryuko, as Mako followed her to the bedroom.

"Don't worry. Felix is all settled!"

Ryuko froze halfway into a t-shirt. "You named him?"

Mako threw her a pair of underwear. "Sure! I have to call him something."

"Jeez, Mako, you're amazing."

"Thanks, Ryuko-chan!" She beamed. "Besides, if you have something to call him he won't be scary anymore, right?"

Ryuko laughed ruefully. "It's not that simple," she said into the closet. "I don't… like spiders."

"But Felix isn't so bad, right?"

"He's way too big. And poisonous. What if you'd gotten bitten?"

"Actually! That's one of the common misconceptions about tarantulas."

"Tah-rah… huh?" Ryuko tripped out of her jeans in shock.

"You see, Ryuko-chan, most people think that…"

Despite Mako's encyclopedic knowledge, Ryuko refused to make friends with Felix.


	2. Part 2

A bite-sized sequel to the previous prompt.

The prompt: A spider falls down person A's shirt. Person A is terrified and runs around wildly. Person B runs after Person A trying to help them.

* * *

"Finally done. Yes!" Ryuko turned to Mako and high-fived her. They had just completed spring cleaning; rugs vacuumed, floors washed, every nook and cranny dusted.

Ryuko sighed and wiped her forehead, duster still in hand. "Now we can– oh. Mako, can you grab the stepstool?" She had spotted cobwebs above the bookshelf in the corner.

She climbed onto the stepstool and swiped the cobwebs away. "There," she said, coughing as she hopped down from the stepstool. " _Now_ we canaaaahh!"

Mako leapt out of the way of the flung duster as Ryuko bolted like a bee stung her.

"There's a spider on me!"

Mako squeaked and took off after her. "Ryuko-chan, wait, I can't help you while you're running!"

After running in circles for several minutes, Mako finally got a hold of a madly-squirming Ryuko, only to be dragged outside. She lost her hold bumping down the steps and thunked into the dirt, but was up in a flash, zooming after Ryuko and tackling her.

They rolled a few feet, Ryuko landing on her back with Mako on top of her.

"Stay still, it might be Felix's baby!"

"I don't _care_ get it _off_ of me!"

Mako yanked off Ryuko's shirt and shook it violently. A quarter-sized spider dropped to the ground and scurried away. "It's leaving. Everything's all right now, Ryuko-chan."

"Thank god for you, Mako. Seriously."

Busy watching the spider go, the face-pat Mako was aiming for resulted in a boob grab.

"Do you two have any modesty at all?"

"Satsuki-chan." Mako whipped around so fast she lost her balance and planted her other hand on Ryuko's chest to regain it. "You're here early."

"It's not what it looks like, Satsuki!" Red-faced, Ryuko bolted to a stand; Mako thumped to the ground. "We were cleaning the house, and–"

"I'd really rather not know." Satsuki walked over, picked up Ryuko's shirt and handed it back to her. "Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll meet you in town."

"Sure thing, Satsuki-chan. Come on, you can get a different shirt," Mako said to Ryuko, noticing her eyeing it with distrust.

"It's dirty, that's all."

They left their shoes outside and walked very carefully to the bathroom, lest they shed dirt. Ten minutes later they emerged, Ryuko zooming out of the house topless and Mako not far behind, clutching her shirt.

"Ryuko-chan, it was just a dust bunny, I swear!"


End file.
